A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of helping Jim Broderick, the founder and president of NEFS Products, Inc., the company that makes Teather™.  If you remember my post from a month or so ago, Teather™ is a dried whole fruit and white tea snack that is packed with beneficial phytonutrients.  Not only are the ingredients in Teather™ organic, but Teather™ comes in exotic and delicious flavors such as Strawberry Pomegranate, Mango Goji Citrus and Berry Cherry Açaí.  I’m a huge fan of Teather and really appreciate the vision that Jim has for his company and his products.  That said, when Jim asked if I would be interested in assisting him in a product demonstration at a local gourmet grocery store, I said, “You want me to chat it up with people and spread the word on Teather™?  What a great opportunity!  What could be better?”  And then Jim told me that as long as I spoke in rhyme, was there on time and wasn’t quiet like a mime, I had the job.  (OK, that’s not true.  I just had a good time writing that and thought you’d appreciate it)

The event where Teather™ was going to be displayed was customer appreciation day at Pemberton Farms.  Pemberton Farms was celebrating their 10 year anniversary and wanted to commemorate this special occasion by having an in store party and BBQ for their customers.  The event was free, welcomed all and was a great opportunity for Pemberton Farms’ vendors to meet and greet the customers and provide tastings of their products.  Because Jim was scheduled to do another promotional event at the same time as the party at Pemberton Farms, I was lucky enough to step in and offer my assistance.  If given the chance (or a soapbox)  to talk about some of her favorite things, Healthy Chow is more than eager to oblige.  Plus, being that Jim is so passionate and excited about his labor of love, it’s hard to not want a share of that contagious enthusiasm.

While the weather on the day of the event was rather gloomy, the mood inside the store was bright and full of energy.  Because the ever-so-wonderful Patrick dropped me off on the earlier side (Healthy Chow likes to take her take time getting the lay of the land), I was able to walk around a bit and see what made Pemberton Farms so unique.  The store was absolutely beautiful!  I think I could have spent hours just wandering around the store staring at the gourmet food, reading the labels on all the fancy items and touching all of the fresh and local produce.  The store was tastefully decorated with an autumnal theme, but it was the allure of all the unique products (not to mention the mouthwatering desserts from the bakery and the amazing looking prepared dishes in the hot case) that made me feel as if I was in food heaven.  But, I was on the clock and had a job to do.  So, it was off to work I went!

Glooooommmyyyy…

Check out all that fruit!

I love how neat and tidy everything is!

Veggies galore…

The Teather™ display

Now that’s a lot of Bob’s!

Oh baked good, how I love you…!

Nut butter nirvana…

Bzzzz bzzzz…

Hot!

Quinoa polenta?  Never seen this before!

Kombucha krazy!

After setting-up the Teather™ table with help from Jim, I was ready to go.  Jim was kind enough to stop by my event to make sure I had everything I needed before making his way across town to his.  Like I said previously, to say he’s a dedicated individual is a huge understatement.  I was glad to have the time to chat with Jim as he gave me a few pointers and some things to look out for while demoing his product.  But after a few short minutes (and no, I’m not referring to my height), Jim had to leave and it was just me and the fruit (and no, I don’t mean the customers!).  While the poor weather seemed to give the customers a slow start on arriving at the party, the ones that did get to Pemberton Farms on time were quite eager to see just what was in store for them (lame pun intended).

Teeing up for some Teather™

Within an hour, the room where the vendors were situated really started to fill up.  Because I was lucky enough to be stationed right next to the Chilly Cow Frozen Custard, probably the starlet of the event, the area surrounding the Teather™ table received some terrific traffic (wow, that was a lot of ‘T’s!).  Because the Chilly Cow product resembled that of ice cream, a free sample was certainly something that everyone wanted.  However, as they were slurping down their frozen treats, I managed to call them over to the Teather™ table to sample a snack that was also sweet, but in a much more natural and organic fashion.

The patrons were intrigued by the dried whole fruit snack samples I was offering and wanted to know what made Teather™ so unique.  I gladly informed them of some of the interesting properties of Teather™ and assured them that if they tried it, they would instantly know what made Teather so extraordinary.  With just one taste of the fruit strip (actually, some wanted to try out all of the flavors), people were instantly pleased and impressed.  While most had never heard of the product, they definitely were surprised to see that so much flavor and so many nutritious benefits could be derived from such a tiny thing.  Plus, like me, they were pleased to see that Teather™ was locally made and designed with the goal to “improve the healthfulness of snack foods.”  I think because Teather is made from all natural and organic ingredients, people automatically assumed that it wasn’t going to be something that tasted good.  However, because the sample was free and they had nothing to lose by having a taste, their guard was brought down but then their spirits were immediately brought back up.  The taste of Teather™ is alive; you can truly savor all of the nutrients that come to life in this tiny snack.

Getting set-up…

The starlet

Some Chilly Cow for Healthy Chow!

There’s just something about a free sample…

Who can resist some hot pasta?

Being able to be the frontwoman for Teather™ was certainly an experience I won’t soon forget.  I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the public and introducing them to a product that is local, healthy and delicious.  When you are passionate about a product and honestly believe in the benefits that it can provide, it’s not difficult to promote it and to want others to understand your adoration.  In addition, when you love what you are promoting and selling, your words are not forced and what you say comes from the heart because it is the truth.  It no longer is considered work because promoting a product for which you truly have passion is something you want to do.  My afternoon at Pemberton Farms was just a sample of what it feels like to stand behind a company and product that I honestly admire, and that is something of which I wish I had more.

Is there a product you sampled that made you want to buy or that basically sold you?  What product do you love and have no trouble standing behind?

Namasté,
Nicole